weekly retro #40: the week i saw canbubu
this week was so weird. i got a lot done and experienced and felt a lot, but i also did not melt a single ounce of wax. it's almost like life is more than work, ok, i guess!
it's finally feeling like november with the chill in the air, the sky going dark way too early, and the fallen leaves getting wet and slimy on the already treacherous blue stone sidewalks. i may never own property but if i did, i'd choose a material upon which i'd not have to clench my ass cheeks every time i walk upon it. just my opinion!
tuesday was the election and the evening was electric! i'm very surprised at new jersey voting a democrat governor, let alone in a kind of landslide. it was nice to see, although it was despite what i believe was a very underwhelming, mid campaign even ignoring nyc (which, by the way, hell fucking yeah). excitingly, my councilman is advancing to a run-off election for jersey city mayor. it's just so cool to finally see progressive and socialist candidates winning on such a large scale!
before the polls closed, a friend and i checked out the canstruction sculptures in lower manhattan. at the end, i believe tomorrow, they tear down everything and donate all the cans and other non-perishables to the local food bank. it's not lost on me that this year's event carries a lot more weight given the current situation with snap benefits on hold.
here are two delivery robots having sex in front of everyone in downtown jersey city. back to canned food, though: one of my favorite stories to tell is how when i was a kid, my dad's satan-like 2nd wife enrolled us in ccd where one holiday season the class put together a basket of food to be delivered to "a poor family". later that week, a woman (not a robot) from the church delivered that basket to my family LMAO. as a kid, even, i was grateful for the donation but jfc could they not have delivered us a basket made by one of the other classes? those freaks had me sign the fucking card lol!
seriously, though, i appreciate that my dad had such a sense of humor and talked honestly about our financial situation at the time, although i feel like sometimes he was a bit too honest about the wrong things and less honest about the things that mattered. i'm just very glad he taught me how to entertain and find humor even in the times we were really struggling. all this is to say that i truly feel for all the parents who are walking that very thin line in being honest but not so honest that you parentify your child during times of food and housing scarcity. you are all doing your best under horrible circumstances.
two minutes before i had to leave for ceramics class the next morning, i read an email from a former employer, cc'ing all my coworkers from that time period a decade ago, letting us know that my former manager and pal, tyler, passed away. it was exactly four years ago that week when i hosted him for a few days before his big adventure, taking the above photo. since then he's traversed oceans, found love and a new hairline (he'd laugh at that), and so much more on his trip around the world - it's hard to be sad knowing that he left us on this bitch of a planet in a thrilling, adventurous way. the world is a lot less exciting without tyler on it, but he will always be in my mind and heart - especially when i make insane decisions.
one of my less insane decisions, although in retrospect it feels insane, was getting my first mammogram. from the moment i turned 40, every healthcare provider on the planet has been texting me, BEGGING ME to let pay them to put my tits in a vice grip and then tell me if my world is about to be turned upside down. fortunately, the screening came back all clear, but it's hard not to scream at how barbaric the humiliation rituals of being a woman are, let alone just a human.
things i enjoyed this week
- you know how sometimes grocery stores will have new, random bars and candies at the start of the register line? mine does and last week they had one box of these marshmallow peanut protein bars and they are so good. i ordered a box online tonight. they taste good and have way less sugar than other bars i've been eating.
- this explainer on wonder grocery on good noticings answered a lot of questions i have about how and why ghost kitchens and grocers like wonder exist. i never ordered from them, never will.
- this keynote interview with pablo torre was really, really good. i am such a fan of torre's work and advocacy. even if you don't like watching sports, i think that pro sports are so impactful on our government and economy that it would be at your own risk to not follow that major part of our entertainment industry. that keynote is a good place to start.
- lily allen's new album, west end girl had me listening while watching the lyrics on Tidal scroll by, like i was watching a suspenseful documentary. i love how this record sounds, i love the storytelling and her reason for sharing it, and i can't wait to request 'pussy palace' at a nemesis's wedding reception.
- i really love the animated show haha, you clowns. andy recommended it, and i was hesitant because i often have a hard time enjoying dead mom content, but these characters are so sweet and the animation style is so good. it's a truly unique series.
- i finished keith mcnally's memoir i regret almost everything. i think mcnally is a beautiful writer and i have a hard time believing half the words someone says in their memoirs. however truthful or not, it's fun to learn about old new york city back when seemingly regular people owned buildings and opened businesses in manhattan. i mean, i know some do, but definitely not like how they used to. mcnally to me not only seems like an asshole but he basically says so himself - he ends the memoir discovering instagram and finding purpose in being an asshole on there.
this week starts with what i was promised would be a 2-minute follow up at the dentist, followed by my first time back at wonderville for robot karaoke in months. wax will absolutely be melted after.
xoxo jenn